2020 law enabled anyone to sue state
By Michael Bielawski
The State of Vermont is being sued for not meeting its climate goals. An announcement by the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) states that they “filed a lawsuit against Vermont’s Secretary of the Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) for not fulfilling her legal obligations under the Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA), which is critical for keeping the state on track to reduce harmful emissions contributing to climate change.” The lawsuit was made possible by elected officials when they passed the Global Warming Solutions Act in 2020.
Governor Phil Scott, in his letter for his veto of the 2020 bill, warned this would happen: “We should use this model for climate change work from the start – not after costly litigation. Because, while our recent clean water work has been a success, the fact is it took nearly two decades to reach this point with early attempts delayed by expensive and unnecessary litigation and the uncertainty those suits created.”
Elena Mihaly, Vice President of Conservation Law Foundation Vermont, is quoted in their statement: “Vermont families and businesses are still reeling from repeated deadly storms and flooding. Climate change is here and it’s time for transparency, honesty, and immediate action. We’re ready to do what it takes to ensure our decision makers don’t fumble their critical job of protecting Vermont for future generations. Our way of life, our health, and our environment depend on it.”
Meeting the carbon goals would cost the state $10 billion, just for the heating sector, not including transportation and electricity production mandates.
The CLF’s announcement also highlighted the Act. It states, “Vermont’s Global Warming Solutions Act passed in 2020. It makes sure that Vermont lowers its polluting emissions by turning the State’s existing emissions reduction goals into legally binding requirements, with benchmarks to hit along the way.”
It says that ANR was not doing its part to mitigate climate change as mandated by the Act. It states, “But the Secretary of Natural Resources’ flawed implementation of this climate law is undermining our collective opportunity to act swiftly in the face of frequent damaging and deadly flooding that is a direct result of our overheating planet. The Secretary has failed to adequately review and, if necessary, adopt or update rules by the July 1, 2024, review deadline to ensure the state is on track to meet its January 1, 2025, emissions reduction requirement.”
OnThe state’s consulting firm NV5 says meeting the carbon goals could cost Vermont fuel buyers as much as $4 more per gallon, or about $1000 extra to fill up every 250 gallon fuel tank.
Political analyst Rob Roper noted the huge cost estimates are already leading to disarray during just the initial stages of the Act’s implementation. He also noted that the lawmakers refused on the floor of the House to cap its cost.
“It’s worth remembering here that Rep. Jim Harrison (R-Chittenden) proposed an amendment to the Clean Heat Standard that would have capped any impact the program had on the price of heating fuels at no more than 20 cents per gallon,” Roper wrote.
The CLF however insists that the State must proceed forward despite any economic impact it might have on vulnerable Vermonters. Their release concludes, “The Agency has misinformed Vermonters, relying on flawed accounting modeling that led to an underrepresentation of our forecasted climate-damaging emissions. It has also not involved the public in the review process as required to do so.”
The author is a writer for the Vermont Daily Chronicle